Dying Souls
by Smurf Cat
Summary: As seto and Serenity live in the Kaiba mansion together, they suffer in silence as angst fills their world. The only option is for Seto to swallow his pride. This, he will never do. SetoxSerenity
1. Alone

Smurf Cat: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!! Please read and review this fic.  
  


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She sighed as she looked around the darkly lit room. Her life was turned upside down. All she could hope for was the past. Her relationship to Kaiba had crashed and burned and yet, she continued to live with him, with all the pain and misery. She hated her life, now she did. Seto had been a companion to her in recent years, but as the years turned over, so did his heart. He was cold, emotionless, everything that could be despised in this cruel world. She, Serenity Wheeler, only wanted out.  
  
Everyday she woke up to nothing and every night she went to bed to the same. In short, she suffered. Her want of the past was so deep that she often cried herself to sleep over the memories. But it wasn't the bad memories that hurt her; it was the good ones, the ones that she cherished. Like a fool she had somehow convinced herself that Seto could change, she proved herself wrong, now she was living a nightmare. It was her fault, everything was her fault; through her eyes and through Kaiba's. Why all the self blame, why all the drama? These were questions that she often asked herself, but in the end of all her searching for answers, she would only break down and cry, screaming at the top of her lungs that life wasn't fair and in truth, it wasn't. She hated life.  
  
Kaiba had threatened to leave many times before. This almost always ended in a brutal argument of words between him and Serenity. Afterward, Serenity would break down and Kaiba would sneer at her about how she was weak. Running away didn't help much either. Seto's grip was on Serenity wherever she went. His presence would cling all around her and sent chills up her spine. Even when Serenity was on the opposite side of the Kaiba mansion, she could still feel him in the rooms where countless fights between the two had broken out. There was nothing left in this house, only hate.  
  
It was true that Serenity wanted Kaiba to leave her, and yet, there were times when she wanted him to stay. She had never really wanted to throw away what all of their years of togetherness had given them. But when he would sneer at her and discount all of her efforts, she began to have a different view. She was haunted by his words day in and day out. She wanted freedom. She wanted to be able to talk to her lover, and in so many ways it was just that; she wanted Kaiba to acknowledge that that was what she was, his lover, not just a toy for his own amusement.  
  
Serenity could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she got up out of bed. The sun had not yet come up, but she knew that Seto would be. He was always up early in the morning, working on something. As she looked out at the gray skied morning, she began to remember, like she did every morning. This was when she would begin to hurt. She could not stop the memories. Everything in the mansion would remind her of something, may it be good or bad. As she opened the window, the cool breeze over took her. She became relaxed and slid her eyes shut.  
  
As she looked back on herself, she could remember her younger days, when she had just become interested in Seto. She remembered the first time she had seen his mansion. Her eyes were wide and her jaw could have dropped to the floor without her noticing. As Seto lead her inside, his interest for her was showing through his eyes. As Serenity remembered, that day had been like living a dream. Her first kiss had come to her that day. Serenity smiled at this as she looked back. It had also been the first, and one out of few, times that she had seen Seto smile.  
  
This memory was followed by same feeling of nostalgia that she would always get. She felt empty, her smile faded and she began crying once again. Everyday had begun like this and today was no different. The pain would never end. Time was becoming a void in which she was falling deeper and deeper. Seto tried to tell her to let it go, but how could she? She wasn't just going to forget all of their memories! She wasn't just going to let go! She wanted the one thing that she could not have, the past.  
  
Looking back, Seto had never been the type to let his emotions show. He buried them in an endless graveyard of the mind, filled with hate and suffering. He would never reveal his pain. It was so much that no one should have had to bear it. His parents had died when he was young and then he was sent off to be abused by some rich chess player. The abuse had never been physical, but mental. He had "been straying behind in his studies." Thus, he was made to work at his desk, chained there, for days before he could be released. Even then he would have to work hard. It would be only a week later before he would have to go through the same routine again. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.  
  
Serenity began to reflect on one particularly dark night when Seto had told her all of this, nearly breaking down into tears by the time his story was over. Seto would never have cried in front of her, but the darkness would cover him and he had the talent of keeping his voice steady. Serenity did notice though and when she tried to comfort him, he only turned away. This had been back when they shared a bed. Now Seto didn't want her company during his long nights filled with nightmares. He battled over his own thoughts daily and serenity could see him sliding further and further each day.  
  
And though he tried to hide it, Serenity could see his fears shining through, ebbing their way into his thoughts, poisoning his mind. It was true that he was too smart for his own good. She could only hope to be able to reach him, but then again, there was no hope, not anymore. Time had become a void and fear had become a terror that was becoming so great upon the two, crushing them under its deadly weight. There would be no escaping over time. They both knew this, and both dreaded the outcome of their ignorance toward it.  
  
Year after year it was the same. Nothing ever changed. She was a prisoner of her own thoughts and fears, held captive by the only one that could set her free. She loved him, he knew it and yet he still chose to ignore her as if she was nothing. She wasn't nothing. She meant everything to Seto and behind his ice blue eyes, he would never admit it. It was his pride that held him back and it was his pride that blinded him. He had no idea how he should live, how he should care. He would never ask for help, he would never scream in the darkness, he was possessed by it, the pride that held him. And yet, sometimes he would scream, he would ask for help only to an empty house. Serenity would not be able to hear him; he had banished her to the opposite side. Then the fear would become so great, he couldn't bear it. He wanted freedom, to be able to tell serenity that he loved her dearly, but he could not. He was held back by his own thoughts and his own fears.  
  
He knew of the pain he caused her. He wished only for her freedom, if he could not be free, he wanted her to be able to fly away on innocent wings. He was not innocent; he was the embodiment of hatred and disgust. He did not deserve her. He was only filth upon the earth. And in late nights all alone, he would meditate on this belief, he could not change, he willed himself not to. He was truly living a nightmare in which he could not wake up out of. And the one thing that made it worse was that he was hurting the one person that he deeply cared about in the process. It was only now when he truly had tasted love that he began to realize his wrong-doings.  
  
Seto's life had been anything but glorious, but in the watchful eye of a bystander, it was just that. Serenity had been that bystander once. Growing up poor, she yearned for life in his mansion, but over time it had become more than that. She had fallen into a bottomless hole in which she could not climb out of. She had fallen in love with the one man who had convinced himself that he didn't deserve love. What she got in return was the nightmare of this life. True, Seto's life was wonderful at one point or another, but now all of that had passed on. He'd left it behind, it was no more, and he willed it to pass for he dwelt in the darkness of his own memories.  
  
Living with him only made it worse. Memories of a past life were all that was left. They were both trapped, both prisoners of their own fantasies of how life could have been. Nothing was as it seemed. Life was dull and meaningless. They passed through it unknowing of the world around them, lost within a lie.  
  
As they would go to sleep every night, they would dream of each other, both haunting, refusing to leave their thoughts. Guilt would overtake them. Serenity would cry, Seto would sneer and hate himself. As she would lie awake, Serenity would hear Seto's voice over and over again in her head, yelling at her about something, like he always did. Everything was her fault; it had always been that way.  
  
This had gone on for years until they were both completely worn out. They couldn't really say that they were sane anymore; all sanity had been chased away. Going crazy without the other, and yet the same would happen when they were with the other. They could not move on from this point. The only option was for Seto to swallow his pride, this he would never do. Serenity knew this; this was why they were trapped.  
  
Serenity climbed slowly out of bed. She looked around at the dark room. There was nothing for her here. She heaved a sigh as she left this dark place, hoping to find a more cheerful setting elsewhere in the mansion. It had seemed like years since Mokuba, Seto's younger brother, had moved out. He had been fun to have around and would often be given long lectures on how his brother had been seemingly abusing her. The "abuse" of the past was innocent in comparison to the darkness that lurked all around them now.  
  
She slowly made her way down the long staircase and looked around the mansion. It was still dark. Seto had apparently not yet been to the kitchen. As Serenity made her way toward it, she could see the faint glow of a computer in the room that was across the huge room from the kitchen. This was something that was usual to Serenity. Seto would always work in that room for hours every morning. True, it was his job to create all sorts of computer programs and video games, but Serenity thought that he should at least not go so hard on himself. Whenever this had been brought up, Seto would ignore Serenity's words and pay her no mind; he was going to work if he wanted to. This was another thing that worried Serenity; Seto never slowed down, not even when he was sick, which rarely occurred. He apparently cared only for work, or maybe he was only trying to get his mind off of Serenity. She didn't know, and was too weary from all the fights to find out.  
  
This brought her back to the same argument that occurred everyday within her, did Seto even care? She had loved him for so long and she knew that he loved her back. She'd seen him with her own eyes sometimes, he had never been crying, but suppressing his tears. If anyone were to tell you that Seto never cried and that he was a steady person they would either be lying or they would have never met the man. He did cry though, if not physically, he did it mentally. His heart was bleeding, the blood of his life force drifting away. This was all because of the depression. Serenity on the other hand cried openly. She had no shame in her tears, they were all for good reasons and besides, she couldn't continue to keep all of her pain inside.  
  
Serenity leaned on the rail at the bottom of the stairs, her vision clouding with tears from all of her fights with Seto. She didn't make a sound though. These were silent tears. Slowly, she made her way to the kitchen. She took a deep sigh as she slid to the floor, crying. "I love you, Seto, I love you." she was whimpering. "Buy why..." she gasped for air through her sobs, "why don't you return that love...why?"  
  
She tried in vain to console herself. It was true that she really felt alone. This was usual. She hated her situation and more than anything, she hated her life. She was too weak willed to commit suicide though. She wouldn't have anyway. She would hold on, for Seto, she reminded herself. Would he even care? She knew that he had to, but then again, she also doubted that. Burying her face in her hands, she tried to quell her tears, taking deep breaths as she did so. Seto would come in for breakfast soon; she didn't want him to have to feel the pain that she had to go through everyday even though she knew that he did go through it.  
  
As she looked up, she could see him. He looked at her with empty eyes and reached out an arm to pull her up, she accepted. They were becoming frozen in that moment, staring into the other's eyes. Seto wrapped his arms around Serenity and slowly began rocking her somewhat in his arms. Maybe it was her imagination, but she didn't care if it was, it felt real. She felt his arms around her. In truth, this was for Seto's comfort for himself and though he would never admit it, he was doing it for Serenity. He did love her. Unfortunately, those words would never reach his lips. He kissed her before releasing her from his arms. It wasn't a blissful kiss or a loving kiss; it was an emotionless kiss with nothing behind it.  
  
And truly, it was nothing. Seto was nothing, Serenity was nothing. Seto was only a human body and nothing more. He had no emotion; he had no soul, no inner life. He was no more than just a void, a body taking up space, a mind with no thoughts except to work, a slave of the darkness. And yet, Serenity loved him. She wanted him to have his life back, but it was lost now. There was no going back. Seto would never swallow his pride; he would never admit defeat, not even to the only one that he truly loved. He knew that she had defeated him though. He felt no regrets; this was a battle for his soul and her purity. He had smite that part of her just as he had smite everything else from her. He did regret this.  
  
Life goes on, at least for everyone else it dose, but not for them. They are trapped in the same place. The same thing happens everyday in the terms of their depressed life. They hated it and they hated their personal lives more than anything. They lived in torture everyday. This would not change. They wondered if they would live like this until it was over. Neither knew, but they both knew this; the barrier between them would never be broken. It would always be there and even if things did change, they would still be trapped. Nothing would be the same. Life was already ruined. This was her life, the life of Serenity Wheeler.  
  


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This is my first fic without musings. It's was too serious to have Alex and Malik arguing about something weird before hand...  
  
Malik: we're here now!  
  
Perfect...  
  
Malik: Please review this fic. Smurf Cat worked really hard on it!  
  
Alex: YEAH! Please review! It will make her really happy and maybe she'll release us from her service!  
  
...don't count on it!  
  
Alex and Malik: T_T review anyway! 


	2. Tears

Alex: Smurf Cat does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! So there!  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Serenity looked out at the clouds rolling in. there would be rain today. She sighed at she saw the grey clouds and the look of the dry earth as it thirsted for water. Rain made her sad. And somehow, it never failed to rain on the days when she was most depressed. Seto had kissed her earlier and she didn't know why. They never kissed anymore. There were times when it was deeper than just a kiss, much deeper, but not lately. Seto had once acted loving toward her, but all of that was over. Their relationship had nothing left.  
  
She wanted the old Seto back, the Seto that would love her and didn't care what her brother thought. Seto had really never cared much for Joey in the first place, he only liked to shove it in his face that he was dating his younger sister and that there was nothing he could do about it. Joey and Seto had always been rivals, Seto being the more powerful. Serenity smiled as she remembered when Joey had first found out about her relationship to Seto. He had overreacted and threatened to kill Seto. It wasn't very funny at the time, but now that Serenity looked back on it, she laughed. Her brother could be so foolish sometimes. It had all worked out in the end.  
  
This was another problem, if Joey were to find out about all the trouble in the relationship, he would take Serenity away and would never let her go back to Seto. Joey tried to be her father sometimes which annoyed Serenity. She didn't like being bossed around by her older brother, no matter how much he cared for her! She sighed again, more heavily this time, as rain began to fall. She could hear it as it fell upon the dry earth. She slid her eyes shut as she listened to it, letting herself be comforted and soothed.  
  
This didn't last long. She could hear Seto in the other room, talking to some important business man on the phone. 'When will he realize that work is not the entire world?' she asked herself as she heard his deep voice. She loved listening to Seto's voice; it was calm, much unlike his spirit. It was steady and reminded herself of how she wanted the relationship to be. She had always wanted to love him openly, but Seto didn't want their relationship to come out to the public. This was reasonable.  
  
The only friends that Serenity had anymore were Mai and Anzu. They had sworn themselves to secrecy when told about all of the fights and depression, but Serenity knew that it couldn't last long. While Mai could keep a secret, she could also tell it for reasons like, "it was for your own good", or "your brother needs to know". This was why Serenity had been so cautious about telling her. Then there was Anzu. If she told Yugi, it was all over. Yugi and Joey were best friends.  
  
As Serenity listened to Seto, she could hear him getting off the phone. Standing up, she made her way over to the door of his office and without knocking, entered. "Seto," She looked over at him in his chair.  
  
He looked back, with somewhat of an annoyed expression on his face. "Yes?"  
  
There was silence. They hadn't spoken in so long and were beginning to get lost within the presence of the other. "I need to talk to you..."  
  
The phone chose this moment to ring. Seto looked at the caller ID before unhooking the phone. Serenity looked over at him warily. Seto never did that. Was there something wrong with him, or was it the caller? "Who was that?" she asked.  
  
"Some business man who wants to buy the company. Fool, does he actually expect me to sell?" Seto said this in his normally deep voice with a hint of pity for the members of the lower classes of society, of course in reality; there was no pity from Seto. "Also, your brother called. He wanted to know how you were doing..."  
  
"And you said?" Serenity asked.  
  
"I told him you were fine." Seto answered as he looked over at her. "What is it you wanted me for?"  
  
"Why did you kiss me?"  
  
An annoyed look made its way across Seto's face. "Is it wrong for me to kiss you?"  
  
"No, it's just that, you haven't kissed me in so long..." serenity's voice trailed off. It had been years since she had moved in with Seto and she still became afraid of him at times. He heart fluttered within her chest like a bird within its cage afraid of a leering cat.  
  
Seto turned away at Serenity's remark. "Go away!" he barked.  
  
"But..."  
  
"I said, go away! I have work to do." He leered back at her and serenity could feel restrained tears. She wasn't going to cry.  
  
"You should relax!" she protested. "All you do is work. We never spend time with each other!"  
  
"So be it." Seto grumbled.  
  
"You don't even care about me, do you?" serenity felt her tears falling and silently, she left the room.  
  
Seto whirled around in his chair only to face an empty office. He felt his heart seize up, and silently he whispered back, "I never said that; I do...love..." but before he could finish his mutterings, the phone rang again.  
  
~@~@~@~  
  
Serenity made her way down the hall as tears streamed down her face. Seto didn't care for her, he never had and he never would. Coming to this realization only made her cry more. They always argued in this fashion and today's argument was no different. They would start off speaking nicely to one another and then Seto would bark something cruel at her and have her leave with tears in her eyes.  
  
She despised the feelings that she got, and somehow, in a strange sort of cruel and twisted way, she dwelt in them and became unwilling to let those feelings go. It was as if she were to leave this world of sadness, she would not know how to live. She was afraid. She wanted Seto to love her, but she didn't want the relationship to become too good for words in an unrealistic time frame.  
  
She stumbled as she entered her room. It was dark here as she plopped down onto the bed. She took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. She let the tears fall as she concentrated on each and every one as it made its way down her tear-stained face. She lay back on her bed and hugged a pillow close to her. Dwelling in the silence, she became lost in her own thoughts. Muttering to herself, she formed her own conclusions. It was true; she dwelt in the dark.  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Seto hated himself. 'Why' was his only question; why had he hurt her yet again? He loved her, but she couldn't see it. It seemed as though she would never see his love. It just seemed like everything always had to get in the way. This world was cutting him off from the only thing worth living or worth dying for; love. He was too proud to make time for her instead of going to the big meeting or parties. In truth, he was afraid. The thought of people looking down on him for loving a Wheeler was too much for him. Now he even wondered if his pride was really worth it. He only wanted the pain to stop.  
  
Slowly, he made himself to get up from his office chair and walk down the lonely halls of his mansion. He walked aimlessly and when he realized where he had unknowingly been leading himself, he sighed but didn't care. He was headed toward Serenity's room. He knew that he would find her there. It's the only place that he knew to look. He cast his head down as he realized how little he knew of her. 'And I call her mine' he thought silently.  
  
As he led himself on, he thought about her. He didn't really know what had brought them to this depression. All he knew was that they were in the mist of it. They used to be so happy. Seto wondered what had happened. He had gotten busy, that's what had happened. He began spending less and less time with her that they finally became distant. He regretted that more than anything. He only wished that they could be happy again.  
  
Rounding a corner, he found her room. She was lying in her bed, asleep. She slept often these days. It was a way for her to let go. Slowly, Seto crept to her bedside. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he called her name softly, "Serenity."  
  
She stirred somewhat. Seto called her name again, this time louder, "Serenity."  
  
Her eyes fluttered open. She looked over at him and asked with a harsh voice, "What do you want?"  
  
Seto swallowed his pride. "I want to talk to you."  
  
"About what?" serenity asked, careful to stay on her guard.  
  
"About us." Seto answered. "What happened?"  
  
"You happened." Serenity replied.  
  
Seto looked away, his rage coming back, he didn't know why this woman had to be so foolish. Didn't she want them to heal? "What do you mean by that?!" his voice thundered with rage.  
  
"I mean that you don't like me anymore! You never spend time with me; you never make an effort to be with me! And guess what Seto, I'm sick of it!" Serenity was never this straight forward.  
  
"So be it!" Seto yelled at her before getting up from the bed and making his way out of her presence. "But don't expect me to try to make things right anymore! You're so ungrateful!"  
  
As Seto left the room, serenity got a sinking feeling. She knew that Seto was trying to help. He had dropped opportunity after opportunity into her lap to be close to him. She had ruined every single one of them. Now she fell back onto the bed and began to cry once again. "Is it you, Seto... or is it me?"  
  
~@~@~@~@~  
  
well, that's it! That's the second chapter!  
  
Alex: that was short!  
  
Malik: Smurf Cat's been slacking off lately!  
  
...Malik, C'mere...  
  
Malik: * comes *  
  
*huggles Malik *  
  
Alex: next chapter will come soon! ...We hope...  
  
Mia: REVIEW! 


	3. Rain

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Alex: Smurf Cat does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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Serenity walked drearily through the woods behind the Kaiba Mansion. She didn't cry, nor think to herself. She only walked. She found peace here, for it was the only place where she could be truly alone. Seto's presence did not reach here. When she was here, she could pretend that she was elsewhere in some other wood in some other time. It was raining, but not as hard as it had been before; now there was only a light drizzle that dampened her clothes and calmed her spirit. She did not reflect upon the last few months of what she and Kaiba had had. She willed herself not to. It was the only way to keep the tears from coming. Instead, she walked.  
  
Looking up at the tops of the trees, she remembered her friends. She wondered if they would even be there for her anymore. Rain dripped off of her chin as more fell onto her face to repeat the cycle over and over again. She sighed, releasing her pain. It was awkward for her to just sit there. She was hardly ever alone; but the calm of the moment comforted her and she liked this place.  
  
Coming to a clearing, she sat down on a bare rock and began to think. Though she tried to evade her own thoughts of Seto, they came anyway. Looking up again at the falling rain, focusing on every rain drop as it plummeted to the soggy earth; she decided that she would return, this time to forgive. She could only hope that Seto would accept it if it was from her...

* * *

Seto pounded his fist on his office desk as he let his anger rage. Turning around, he flung some papers off his desk. "I'll make her clean those up when she gets back!" he yelled, not really meaning it.  
  
He stopped only to try to make his rage die, but to no avail. "Where is she?"  
  
He looked outside into the soft rain. He didn't want to go look for her, but it seemed as though he had no choice. He was furious for the way she had talked to him and even more furious about the way she had left without saying a word. Then again, he couldn't really blame her. He had been harsh as of late. Not all things were her fault, though he would like to blame many of his own faults on another.  
  
Walking over to the door, he swung it open violently. Next he made his way very quickly down the spiral staircase leading to the front hall. At last he reached the front door and as soon as he was out, he went to the only place he knew to look beyond the mansion, for surely Serenity would have fled from its grounds. He went to the woods.  
  
This was a place that he had hardly ever been. The idea of enjoying trees and the like was a new concept to him. It was strangely peaceful here. There were no phones, no businesses, and no people. He took note of every fallen leaf. It was late in the summer now. Autumn would be here soon.  
  
As he walked down the beaten paths made by Serenity herself, he could see her in the distance. He could see her gaze; the look of tears unwilling to come on her face. His rage still burned deeply, but it was something about her trancelike gaze that averted his rage from her to himself. He had no idea what this feeling was; only that it was there. Mere seconds after it had set itself upon his mind, he shunned it away, hoping that it would never come back. And then, Serenity turned away. Seto released from her gaze, his rage once again boiled. Why had she turned away from him?  
  
"Serenity!" Seto yelled harshly after her, running now to her side. Soft rain began to pour and mist down upon them.  
  
Serenity stopped. She didn't know if it was for fright or for her own good. Her senses were going crazy. She could not think in this moment. Seto, catching up to her came to her side. Serenity dropped to her knees.  
  
"Serenity!" he yelled yet again. Serenity did not answer, she only turned to face him.  
  
After looking down on her for some time, Seto began to ask a question. "Why are you out here... why did you flee?"  
  
Serenity looked down toward the wet earth. She sighed deeply. "I'm sorry." She only whispered the words, but Seto had heard them.  
  
He looked down on her with almost pity in his eyes. The pity was filled with disgust and yet, sympathy also shone through them. It was funny how the two could go together so well when it came to Serenity. "Sorry for what?" Seto barked.  
  
"For running away..." her voice trailed off. "I shouldn't have escalated the fight..."  
  
Seto wanted to say, 'I'm sorry also, you have no need to be sorry for it was me who started the argument', but he didn't. His pride kept him from saying anything like that. Instead he grunted and in a low voice he spoke, "let's go home."

* * *

Once back at the mansion, chaos began its normal route throughout the day. Serenity went up to her room. Things were getting to be a bit much. She needed to be free, be able to get away for a while. She could always go to her mother's house. She wondered what her mother would say about her relationship with Kaiba. She had not spoken to her mother in what seemed like years, not since she had gone to live with Seto. Even then, her mother had not known about the relationship. Serenity had run away and Joey had refused to give her back.  
  
As she walked over to her closet, she began to go through her stuff. She was only contemplating leaving. As she looked though it all, she could see the many dresses that Seto had given to her. The old garments brought back memories, too good to be rediscovered. Serenity looked down, nostalgia taking her over. She shut her eyes and as she did, tears flowed out. She buried her head in grief in one of the more expensive dresses. "Why can't it be the way it used to be?"  
  
Little did she know that Seto had slipped himself into the room. He stood behind her now as began to feel the same nostalgia as serenity. He bowed his head, and then spoke. "If you want to leave..." there was a pause, "...then leave."  
  
Serenity turned in shock. "w-what are you doing here?"  
  
"It is my mansion, have you forgotten?" answered Seto. "If you need time alone, I will grant it to you. I will give you money, lots of it. You can go away for a while. When you return, you will not be so burdened."  
  
"I was going to go to my mother's." answered Serenity quietly. "She is a poor woman and I also when I don't have you around, but we have little need of your money. Keep it."  
  
Seto's anger grew. "Are you rejecting me?" he asked the question coldly.  
  
"Seto," pleaded Serenity. "Must we always fight?"  
  
Seto turned himself away, obviously ashamed. He sighed before looking back at Serenity. "I'm... sorry..."  
  
The words were low, barely audible. Serenity made no comment about them. She only looked Seto in the eyes, those icy blue eyes, cold in all their aspects. She could see faint warmth radiating from them. This was rare. Seto never looked down on her with love. As Serenity looked up ay Seto, she only said one thing, "Thank you."  
  
Her voice was equally low. She turned back to the closet and gathered clothes. "Do I have your permission to leave to go see my mother?"  
  
Seto looked over at her, a longing passion about his eyes. He wanted her to stay. He did not give into his desires, however. "Fine. You may go, but only for a short time." His voice wavered slightly.  
  
Serenity looked back at Seto. "Is it really fine, or do you want me to stay?"  
  
Seto didn't answer; he only looked her in the eyes. Serenity gazed back, not quite sure how Seto felt.

* * *

YAY! Second chapter done!  
  
Malik: we're getting good reviews to this...  
  
Alex: yeah, and keep 'em coming! If you got any suggestions, just leave them in the reviews and be sure to make the reviews long. That's how Smurfy likes 'em!  
  
Smurfy?!  
  
Alex: MEEP! Just review, we don't care how long it is!  
  
Malik: REVIEW!


	4. When I Can't Leave You

I don't own Yugioh!  
  
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Serenity sighed as she packed her clothes. She looked over at the clock impatiently. It was four in the afternoon. She had called her mother earlier to tell her that she would be on her way, but as the minutes passed and her thoughts turned over to Seto, she began to grow a reluctance to leave. She felt as if he needed her, though he would never admit it. Seto was cold. He needed her warm heart, no matter how troubled she was.  
  
As she packed the last of her belongings, she grabbed the cell phone that Seto had given her. She never used it. She didn't even know her own number, but something told her that she would need it to call Seto; to call her mother if indeed she did decide not to go. Then again, the mansion was so big that if she were to want to hide here from Seto and make him to believe that she was gone; she would have been able to. She was never good at keeping secrets however and decided against the idea.  
  
She grabbed her suitcase and reluctantly walked out the door. As she went, she made her way to the place where her car would be. Seto had bought it for her a year ago when it had been brand new. It was still new, hardly used. It was the kind of car that only a celebrity would be able to afford. Serenity loved it and loved to drive it, but would always feel uneasy whenever she did. As she had begun to look at the cars around her in the world, she could find no one else with the same car, or even anyone else besides the people on TV who had cars as expensive as hers.  
  
Joey loved the car as well and would often get her to drive him and his friends around in it. Serenity wished that she had friends like Joey's. She needed someone besides her brother to trust information to. She only wanted someone to talk with about Seto. She always kept it bottled up inside.  
  
She sighed as she climbed into the car after putting her small bags of luggage in the back. She slid herself into the leather driver's seat and just sat for a moment as if the feeling of her car, her only possession, brought her comfort. She slid her eyes shut and leaned against the back of the seat. Next she shut the door and bringing herself back to reality, put the key in the ignition and started it up.  
  
It was a quiet car. That was one of the reasons she liked it. As she pushed a button to open the garage door, she pulled out, leaving the Kaiba Mansion. She drove down the road for several miles, leaving the rich neighborhoods. As she came into the city, she decided that she would stop at a coffee shop for a while so as to take her time to decide whether or not she really wanted a distance between her and Seto. Her mother's house was still an hour away on the other side of the city. Had there not been so much traffic in Domino, it would have only taken 15 minutes to cross it.  
  
As she pulled into the coffee shop of her choice, she got out of the car. As she walked in, she could see people sitting together, couples drinking their coffee together. Serenity looked past and away from all this as she came to the counter, ordered a mocha and sat down. As she thought about it and how everyone she saw here seemed to be with somebody, she felt alone. Humans aren't meant to be alone in this world, she thought to herself. We need each other. We need a special someone.  
  
Her special someone, so to speak, was Seto, always had been always will have been. Serenity looked down into her mocha. She whispered his name quietly to herself before taking a hot sip. The liquid coursed down her tired through as she drank. It soothed her and calmed her. 'I miss you already' she thought. She also thought that she needed a friend. She decided that she would go home and call Mai. She would not tell Seto that she was there however. She needed time to be alone.  
  
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Seto worked yet again at his computer. Working at a computer always calmed him somewhat. It seemed the most natural thing to do. He sighed as he remembered her. He already missed her. He would call her mother's house tonight and ask her to come back. He would be swallowing a massive amount of pride in order to do so. He wanted her back so badly. He just didn't know how to express himself. He had been cold and alone all his life. It was only now in he past few years that he had been given the chance to lean how to love. He had blocked his heart all these long years, but he told himself that he would open up to her. He had to.  
  
It seemed as though he had no other choice now. He would have to make up. He had said that he was sorry once already, but once wasn't enough. Serenity deserved better than that and that would be what she would get. Seto would make sure of it. If he had to give up all the money in the world, he would make her happy. It was upon the coming of that thought that Seto realized that he had no idea how to make her happy. He sighed. He supposed that they were both depressed for a reason.  
  
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As Serenity drove up to the Kaiba Mansion, she parked her car neatly inside the garage. Careful to stay quiet, she crept into the mansion. As she moved up the stairs, she could practically feel herself holding her breath involuntarily as she moved from room to room. At last she reached the main stairwell and crept past the main computer room to a small room down the hall.  
  
Plopping down on the dusty old couch, she looked around. The room hadn't been used in what looked to be years. She and Seto used to sit on this couch together. It used to be more of an entertainment room, but as the years passed so did the meaning of most of the rooms in the house.  
  
Slowly, she got out her cell phone and began to dial Mai's number. The phone rang on the other end and it was all Serenity could do to pray that she would answer. After three agonizing rings, she did, "hello?"  
  
"Hey, Mai. It's me, Serenity."  
  
"Where have you been for a while?" came the response.  
  
"With Seto." Answered Serenity truthfully. "Mai, can we talk?"  
  
"Sure, Hun." Came the response.  
  
Serenity told Mai about Seto and about the depression and about how if she told Joey, Serenity would personally see to it that Mai paid. The girls lost track of time as they caught up with each other. They seemed to talk about everything by the time the sun had set. Serenity had heard the phone ring more than once at the Kaiba Mansion. She didn't realize that she had forgotten about her mother.  
  
""""""""""""""""""""""""  
  
Seto rolled his eyes as he answered the phone. "What do you want?"  
  
"Seto? Is that you?" came the voice of Serenity's mother.  
  
"Yes. Why are you calling here?"  
  
"Is Serenity over there, because she's not here?" answered Serenity's mother.  
  
"She's not here either." Said Seto, shocked that Serenity wouldn't be where she said she was going to be.  
  
"Oh no!" cried Serenity's mother. "What if she's hurt?!"  
  
"I'll send the police to look for her." Said Seto in a monotone, trying desperately to keep his voice from cracking. He knew not if she was hurt or not. He daren't guess.  
  
"Thank you." Said serenity's mother before Seto hung up on her.  
  
What have I done? Thought Seto as he looked down at his desk. Am I the reason why she's run away? Has she run away?  
  
Seto bounded out of his office and up the flight of stairs to Serenity's room. She was not there. He ventured farther down the hall and came upon a long since used room. There he found her.  
  
"Serenity!" he rang out with an angry voice. Serenity jumped back.  
  
Seto moved toward her and cupped his hands around her face. His eyes filled with sympathy. "Your mother called and said that you weren't there. I assumed the worst. Why didn't you tell me you were still here?" his voice shook with both anger and the fear that he had almost lost her.  
  
Serenity looked down. "I'm sorry... I... I wasn't thinking..."  
  
Seto leered at her, staring her down. Serenity began to feel small and at last broke eye contact and ran to her room. Why couldn't Seto just accept sorry? Sorrow filled her heart. She felt as though things would never be resolved....  
  
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Chapter 4 is done!  
  
Malik: please leave a review if you read this!  
  
Alex: Smurf Cat hardly got any reviews to her Golden Sun fic, Trust AND IT HAS ME IN IT!  
  
If anyone likes Golden Sun, go read that fic too!  
  
Malik and Alex: REVIEW! 


	5. For the Love of Blue Eyes

Chapter 5: For the Love of Blue Eyes

By Smurf Cat

* * *

Serenity blinked her eyes open as she awoke the next morning. Her and Seto had had a fight the previous night after she had gotten off the phone with Mai. Why hadn't she told Seto? Why had Seto raised his voice to her? Was it because he cared? Serenity sighed. The fight had been characterized by the words and phrases of "irresponsible", "waste of time", "why didn't you tell me", and Seto's personal favorite, "you're just a wheeler!"  
  
It wasn't really a fight. It was more like Seto giving Serenity a thrashing with his words. She would have rather him beat her. Words hurt more than physical pain. They lasted. Serenity could still hear the angry tone in Seto's voice. During the fight, she had escaped to her mind. She didn't respond to Seto, she only took it in. she _wanted_ to take it in, as if the pain gave her a cruel sense of pleasure. It did give her something to dwell on.  
  
Now she lay there in her bed as the sunlight poured down onto her face. The rain was gone today. She half wished that it were back, but decided that the sunlight would do her some good. Maybe she needed counseling. She knew that Seto needed some. He would never swallow his pride.  
  
As she got up and moved across the room, she came to her closet and flipping through her clothes, she picked out a black shirt and some jeans and put them on. Serenity would normally never wear black, but she figured that she would try to reflect her mood for today. She had no idea what the jeans represented, maybe that she was "only a wheeler".  
  
She had been poor trash. How could she compare with Seto? She began to think that she wouldn't be worthy for him. Maybe she _should_ she a counselor. As she walked down the stairs and out of the house, she thought again about her long lost friends. She needed a few friends right now.  
  
She stopped herself abruptly in front lawn of the mansion and turned around. Now she was to report to Seto every time she was going to go anywhere. Serenity wondered if he would let her get mental help. As she came into the mansion, she could see him at his computer desk in the next room. She inched closer, almost afraid to talk to him after last night.  
  
"Seto?" she asked as she came to the door.  
  
Seto grunted.  
  
"May I... go somewhere?" she felt funny asking the question.  
  
Seto turned in his chair. "Where will you be?"  
  
"Downtown. I need new clothes..." serenity took a deep breath to ask the next question, "may I have some money?"  
  
"Don't _you_ have any money?" asked Seto scornfully. "Oh yeah, that's right. You're a wheeler."  
  
Serenity looked down. She decided not to make a fight out of this. Seto looked over at her. He looked away as he came to realize how much he must have just hurt her. "How much do you want?"  
  
Serenity looked back up at him. "Just enough to get me some new shirts and some jeans. Maybe some jewelry would be nice..."  
  
"How does a thousand dollars sound?" he asked. Seto had no idea how to buy women's clothes or how expensive they were and quite frankly, he didn't care. "That should be enough to get you a few outfits and a diamond maybe."  
  
"Why don't you come with me?" asked serenity, daring herself not to hope, willing herself not to.  
  
"I have more important things to do." Said Seto as he opened his wallet and handed her five hundreds, eight fifties, and five twenties. "Just get back before eight or so."  
  
"We never do anything together." Said Serenity. "I miss you, Seto. We used to do stuff. Please come with me. What's so important that you have to do it this very minute anyway?"  
  
Seto grunted. "Business. I may go with you some other time. Not now."  
  
Serenity sighed before exiting the room. Seto knew she was right, they never did _anything_ together.

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The day at the mall in downtown Domino was hectic. Serenity was constantly worried about someone trying to steal Seto's money. He shouldn't have given her so much. She shouldn't have excepted it. As she looked at all the latest fashions, she didn't see anything that she really liked. She picked up a few shirts before heading to the food court where she buried her troubles in a cup of coffee.  
  
She wished Seto were here. She wanted to hold him like she used to, to feel his warmth. She didn't know if he'd let her touch him now o' days, much less hold him. This relationship was hopeless.  
  
She got up from her spot at the food court to go to the jewelry store. Everything here was beautiful and overpriced. She got an eighty-six dollar ring with a Peridot in it. It didn't match the clothes she was wearing. Seto was right, she was only a wheeler. Wheelers can't do anything right.  
  
Serenity wanted to get something for Seto. She had no idea what to get. She only wanted something that would show that she cared. She still had seven hundred dollars in her pocket. She stopped by a store display where a skilled artist was selling her painting of famous duel monsters. Serenity saw a portrait of Blue Eyes White Dragon. That was what she would get for Seto.  
  
As she walked into the store, she asked the artist how much it was. It was three hundred dollars. As Serenity looked it over, she could see why. There were intricate details throughout the whole thing. It was nothing less than perfect. The Blue Eyes was in flight with a sky fill up with white lightning in the background. Serenity bought it and the artist wrapped it in a cloth a sold it to her.  
  
"It's beautiful." Said serenity to the young female artist.  
  
"Thank you." Said the artist and blushed. "I'm a huge Duel Monsters fan. This picture was inspired by Seto Kaiba when he won the world championships a few years back."  
  
Serenity smiled. "I'm buying it for him. He's one of my... friends." Serenity didn't want to say lovers.  
  
He artist looked shocked. "Wow! It must be nice to be friends with him. He's my hero."  
  
"Well, let's just say that it's interesting sometimes." Said serenity before thanking in artist again and walking back to her car. Still having four hundred dollars in her pocket almost drover her up and over the edge. Growing up poor, she had never had this kind of money. She wanted to spend it now that she had it. She told herself to control herself.  
  
She didn't control herself. On her way home, she stopped by the shop that Yugi's grandfather owned and bought herself four boxes of Duel Monsters cards. It was all she had money for. She figured that if Duel Monsters could calm Seto down the way it did, it could give her a new outlook on life. She might as well _try_ the game. It might just be fun! For once in those past few months, she smiled.

* * *

She got home at eight as planned. She carefully snuck both the portrait of Blue Eyes and her boxes of cards up to her room where she plopped down on the bed. She began to open a few of the boxes when she remembered Seto. Grudgingly, she got up to tell him that she was home. He's rich. Why didn't he have an intercom in the mansion or something?  
  
As she came down stairs, she came to his room yet again to say that she was home. "I'm back." She said to him.  
  
"I've been thinking about what you said." Answered Seto as he whirled around in his chair.  
  
"What?" serenity questioned.  
  
"We never do anything together." Said Seto. "Maybe we could go out tomorrow night or something. I could reserve the whole restaurant so that we could be alone."  
  
"You don't have to do that for me, Seto." Said serenity. "I just want to spend time with you... I bought you something."  
  
Seto grinned. "With my money?"  
  
"Well," serenity began. She hadn't thought of _that_. "You gave me the money. Technically it was my money when I bought it."  
  
Seto wanted to tell serenity how cute she was when she tried to be smart. "Well, go get it."  
  
Serenity dashed up the stairs to retrieve the portrait. She came down minutes later and handed it to Seto. "Do you like it?"  
  
As Seto unwrapped the painting, he could see the Blue Eyes White Dragon. He suddenly felt bad. Serenity had gone to all that trouble to find him something that he knew he was interested in (the Blue Eyes White Dragon, not the painting). He hardly knew what she liked.  
  
"Thank you." He said. He found it hard to make the words come out. She had done so much for him and endured so much. What had he done for her? He only wanted to make things better...

* * *

Chapter finally done!  
  
I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Malik: Smurfy's gonna try to reply to reviews.  
  
MistressMoonDemon- I did update. Thanks for the review!   
  
Kaiba-Angel- you're kinda psychotic. That's cool! One time, I got a caffeine high off of some Coke. It was scary! I've been outta school for almost 3 weeks. Thanks for the review!  
  
Kikoken- I did update. You read it! Keep reviewing!  
  
Black-Fire Eclipse- He won't make up for a while. Maybe next chapter. If you got an idea tell me.  
  
Neo-elite- I know it's sad. It might get happy at the end. I don't know yet. The story usually comes to me as I write...  
  
Sakura- I can't wait for more reviews! Keep reviewing! The more the merrier and the faster I update!   
  
TinyFlyer02 What do you think he should do? I haven't decided.  
  
Sailor Z 360- Email me. Yep! Happy endings are great! Sappy, but great.  
  
Malik: it better not be sappy!  
  
Alex: Trust needs more reviews. If you like Golden Sun, review it.  
  
I tend to update faster if I have a lot of reviews. Just keep that in mind.   
  
Alex and Malik: REVIEW! 


	6. Falling for You All Over Again

Dying Souls Chapter 6 Falling for You All Over Again  
  
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Seto looked over the painting that Serenity had given him, almost as if he were admiring it. He looked beyond the canvas with paint on it. He looked at the Blue Eyes White Dragon. It seemed to stare out at him and lure him to do something, though he knew not what. He knew that he would have to make up to Serenity. She was innocent. She didn't deserve to be hurt by him the way she was.  
  
Slowly, he made himself to get up. He decided that he should say that he's sorry. Normally, he would never come to this conclusion, but seeing as how he lived with her, her habits tended to rub off on him. As he walked up the long staircase to her room, he began to have second thoughts about the words that he was about to offer her. He told himself that he had to say them, and in truth, he did. It would be the only way out of this dark hole that he had put the both of them in.  
  
As he knocked on the door, he could hear shuffling and the sound of Serenity putting something away. Seto suddenly became curious. Seto was never curious. 'I've been living with her too long...'  
  
Serenity slowly opened the door to let him in, "yes?"  
  
"I want to tell you something..." Seto sighed, knowing that he would have to swallow a chunk of his pride in mere moments. He could see Serenity looking up into his eyes as if awaiting his something. "I'm... sorry."  
  
"I'm sorry too." Said Serenity.  
  
"What is it that you have to be sorry for?" asked Seto, immediately after, regretting the words. There goes another chunk of pride...  
  
Serenity was silent. She didn't know. Then an idea came to her. "I always overreact and escalate the fights..."  
  
Seto mentally let out a sigh of relief. His cold eyes scanned her room. "What was it you were putting away so quickly before I came in?"  
  
"Um..." serenity paused. 'What to tell Seto?' "It was nothing."  
  
"Nothing? Then why did it take you so much time?"  
  
"Seto, let's not argue over this." Pleaded Serenity.  
  
"Just tell me." Urged Seto. He made his way to her closet where on the floor outside it, he found a stray Duel Monsters card. Picking it up, he asked the question, "what is this doing here?"  
  
"Umm... I bought it." Answered Serenity. "Four whole boxes. I figured I'd try to make a deck."  
  
"You?" Seto couldn't help but laugh. Serenity was trying to make a deck! This was all too funny. His laughed rang louder in serenity's ears. She had to smile. It was the first time she'd known Seto to laugh in years.  
  
"I... guess it's kind of funny..." serenity trailed off. While she didn't like the prospect of Seto laughing at her, she did love to hear him laughing. Perhaps they would come out of this darkness quicker than they had hoped.  
  
Seto stopped moments later. He looked down at the card in his hand. "Do you need any help?"  
  
"Um... I guess so..." admitted Serenity. "I don't know the first thing about Duel Monsters..."  
  
The rest of the night was spent making Serenity a deck. She got lectured on every aspect of the game until three in the morning and got to ask questions. While it wasn't serenity's ideal use of time together, she had to remind herself that it was time. And any time with Seto that wasn't being spent arguing, was good time.  
  
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When Serenity woke up the next morning, she found herself in Seto's arms lying on the same sofa in the same room where he had taught her Duel Monsters the night before. She wondered why Seto hadn't gotten up yet to do his work. As she looked up at his face, she could see that he was looking down upon her, gazing at her. Why, she had no idea. Normally, Seto would have killed himself if he had had to be away from his work this long. What was wrong with him?  
  
"Seto?" she asked carefully.  
  
He grunted, still gazing, a smile coming across his face.  
  
"You're smiling."  
  
"Is there something wrong with that?" he asked her.  
  
'No.' thought Serenity. 'I love it when you smile.' Though she wasn't brave enough to say it. Instead she stated, "no... how long have you been up? You never sleep this late."  
  
"Only for about 30 minutes. I haven't been sleeping lately... wanna duel?"  
  
"Umm..." serenity didn't quite know if she was ready for a duel against the world champion of Duel Monsters. But she agreed to it anyway, "sure."  
  
'Any time spent with him while we're not arguing is good enough for me.' She reminded herself.  
  
""""""""""""  
  
The arena was huge. Serenity didn't want to do this. She knew that she would lose. Even so, she didn't back down, she wouldn't.  
  
The duel didn't last long. Seto actually got his Blue Eyes Ultimate out. Serenity hadn't done so much as scratch his life points with her Mysterious Puppeteers, and even though she could have pulled out her Copycat at the last minute to kill of the great three headed Blue Eyes, she didn't. She didn't want a fight to start when Seto lost his most precious card.  
  
As they came down from their dueling arena, Seto walked over to Serenity. She didn't say anything about what could've happened. Seto almost smiled at her.  
  
"You did... good." He said, almost as if he was forcing every word. Swallowing pride was always a hard thing to do.  
  
As the day progressed after that, Serenity thought of Seto. Had he changed, or was it just that he was overjoyed to have something in common with Serenity? She sighed. She would never understand him.  
  
""""""""""""  
  
As Seto worked away again at his computer, he couldn't take his mind off her. She was a fair duelist, but it wasn't the dueling that was re- catching his eye. She seemed to be putting forth more of an effort to love him again. He supposed he should do the same.  
  
As he moved the wheeled chair across the floor to the phone, he hesitated. Then he picked up and dialed, very slowly, 4...1...1... information desk.  
  
"Information?" asked a girl on the other line.  
  
"I want the number to the most expensive restaurant in Domino City."  
  
The woman continued to tell Seto the number and address address. Seto and Serenity would be going out to eat a private dinner.  
  
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I know it was short, but more reviews will change that! hint hint wink wink  
  
Malik: on to reviewer responses!  
  
Count12- thanks you so much for your review. I try as much as I can for everyone to be in character. Did I goof this chapter?  
  
Sailor-z-360- haven't we already been over this? The end will be happy. I promise! Your part will be next chapter.  
  
Black-Fire Eclipse- seeing as how things are going, there will definitely be a restaurant scene!  
  
Sakura- just think if I had left it at the first chapter! This fic was gonna be a one-shot! Thanks for the review!   
  
Kikoken- does that mean I'm a good writer? I love reviews, so tell me in one!  
  
Subaru the Jaguar- your muses' name is Mika? I have a friend named Mikaa. We might get together. I'm sure glad he doesn't read yugioh at time like this... anyhow, keep reviewing. I love the psycoticness!  
  
Neoelite- what do you mean, "it's getting better?" was I not good in the first place? J/K!  
  
Vendred13- thanks! I hope I will too!  
  
Malik and Alex: REVIEW! 


	7. Coming Back into Your Arms

Alex: Smurf Cat does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Chapter 7: Coming Back into Your Arms

* * *

"Where are we going?" asked Serenity as Seto lead her out the door that night. As they walked out onto the front lawn of the Kaiba Mansion and toward their black limousine, Serenity looked up at the stars to see that they were all shining brilliantly, accompanied by the moon, which was full this night.  
  
"You'll see." Answered Seto. He hoped and prayed with all his heart that things would work out. Serenity had insisted that she didn't want anything so fancy as a whole restaurant rented out just for her. Seto had never expected for she, as a Wheeler, to understand. She had been poor all her life.  
  
"The stars are beautiful." Said Serenity as she continued to follow Seto. She was dressed in her best dress. It was very beautiful, but serenity felt odd wearing it out like this...  
  
"Yes," answered Seto. "But we have to hurry up and get there."  
  
As they came to the limousine, Seto opened the door for Serenity. Even if he was heartless, he wasn't impolite. Serenity got in as Seto came around to the other side. The driver already knew where to go and as he hit the gas, Serenity once again began to question why she needed to be dressed the way she was and where on earth were they going!  
  
As they arrived, Serenity gaped at the size and splendor alone of the place. The restaurant was in an old house in down town Domino. There were blocks of old, rich, neighborhoods in the vicinity. As Seto walked Serenity to the door, he opened it for her and led her inside. The insides were as equally huge as the outsides. A grand chandelier hung within the opening parlor, drapes adorned the windows; this place was a dream.  
  
A young woman trotted up to them shortly after they entered. "Mr. Kaiba?" she asked.  
  
"Yes." Confirmed Seto.  
  
"Your reservation is ready. Please come this way."  
  
The young woman led the both of them to a dark room, lit with candlelight. Serenity gaped at it as Seto ushered her to her chair.  
  
"Your server will be with you shortly. May I take your drink orders?" asked the woman.  
  
"Bring me a bottle of your most expensive white wine." Said Seto.  
  
Serenity flinched somewhat. She was only twenty years old, not old enough for alcohol by a few months. "I'll have a virgin margarita."  
  
"Frozen or on the rocks?"  
  
"Frozen." Answered Serenity.  
  
"It'll be out in just a few moments." With that, she turned to leave.  
  
"Wait." Said Serenity. The woman turned. "What about our menus?"  
  
"Have you ever eaten here before?" asked the woman. Serenity shook her head no. "oh, I see. Well you can order anything you want here, as long as it's not too out of the ordinary."  
  
"Wow." Said Serenity as the woman walked off to go get the waitress.  
  
As soon as she was alone with Seto, she turned to him. "So why did you take me here of all places?"  
  
"I wanted to do something special." Answered Seto.  
  
Serenity looked him over. Seto looked back at her. His eyes seemed calmer than usual, as if he was relaxed. Maybe spending money was like leisure time to him. Serenity didn't know. Seto was the only rich person she'd ever really been around besides his business associates. "Won't this cost a lot of money?"  
  
"I can afford it." He answered.  
  
Serenity looked away. She was worried that Seto was trying too hard. All he needed to do was spend time with her. Heck, they could be dueling and Serenity would be having fun! She just wanted time. But wasn't this it? This was time.  
  
There was silence in the room. Seto looked up at Serenity. "Well?"  
  
"Well what?" serenity asked, confused.  
  
"We're alone aren't we?"  
  
Serenity blushed. "Yeah. I guess we owe each other an apology..."  
  
"I'm not talking about that." Said Seto. "You said that you wanted to spend time with me. Any time would be all right. Well, here we are."  
  
Serenity smiled. Seto was thinking about here. "I guess you're right... what are you going to eat?"  
  
"Lobster."  
  
"Sounds good. So I guess you've had time to think about this." Said Serenity.  
  
"Yeah. What do you want?"  
  
"Lamb would be nice. I haven't had it since I was little." Said Serenity, smiling upon the memory.  
  
"When did you ever have the money to have it? I thought you grew up poor." Said Seto.  
  
"We did, but when Joey turned 10, my mom and dad decided to get together for dinner at this fancy restaurant. It was the first expensive place I ever went to." Answered Serenity, slightly offended at Seto's choice of words to ask the question.  
  
They both looked up as the waitress entered the room. "Hello. My name is Lisa. I'll be your server tonight. Have you decided on what you want?"  
  
"Yes." Confirmed Seto. "I'll have the lobster tails. She'll have lamb if you have it."  
  
The waitress went on the ask how they each wanted their meals cooked so not to get the orders wrong in any way shape or form. "Thank you." She said at last when she was finished and moved out of the room on graceful footing.  
  
As Seto and Serenity awaited their dinner, they spoke to each other. Barriers were being broken down. This, Serenity was glad for. It was only the time that she loved to spend with Seto. Even after the meal arrived, they continued to talk and Serenity witnessed something that she had not seen in a long time. Seto let out a laugh.  
  
It had been in that moment that she realized that she still loved him and still wanted him by her side...  
  
"""""""""""""  
  
They came home late that night. They were both tired, though Seto tried to hide it. He gave the excuse that he needed to go to bed so that he could have sleep because he had to work tomorrow, as usual.  
  
"May I... sleep _with_ you?" serenity had asked in one of her bolder moments.  
  
Seto had known what she meant. She hadn't meant that she wanted to share intimacy with him again, only to feel the warmth of his body and the security it brought. In the end, he had given in to her. The night spent together was blissful in a word. Serenity could feel Seto's arms around her as he slept and his breath on her cheek. She sighed against him in her sleep and in the time when she was trying to do so. She only wished this could last forever.  
  
She knew that in the morning, there would be another fight. It was inevitable. It was always inevitable.  
  
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OH YEAH! I'm done!  
  
Malik: with the chapter.  
  
Alex: on to review responses!  
  
Subaru the Jaguar- umm... does that even count as a review? Lol. But seriously, next time leave a review not a script. I still say we should email each other sometime! Hyper people shall rule the world!  
  
saiyan girl- thanks. I will keep it up!  
  
Tinyflyer02- I may take a look at your fic, but keep in mind that I'm pretty busy and am going to camp for a week on the 4th of July. I will try though. Maybe I could print it out or something and read it there...  
  
Black-Fire Eclipse- Y'know, a lot of people said that it seems. Do you think I'm using the phrase, "Swallowing his pride" a little too much?  
  
Court12- thanks a lot. Keep reviewing. I like how you review, so keep it up and tell me if there's any problem what so ever with the fic!  
  
kikoken- It's Murphy's Law and it's inevitable. "If something can go wrong, it will." This fic included, but don't worry! It'll be a happy ending!  
  
Chibi-Kari- thank you so much! I really mean that! Can you make me a better summary? I don't think it's too good either...  
  
sailor-z-360- I put you in it! Aren't you happy!  
  
Malik: that's all. Smurfy needs more reviews!

Now remember, the review button is our _friend_!   
  
Malik: It means review!


	8. Fighting for the Puppy

Alex: Smurf Cat does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Malik: Yay! Chapter update!   
  
I've decided to move the rambling because I find that if you have it at the end, it takes the reviewers out of the mood and impression that the story has given you.   
  
Malik: One to reviewer responses!  
  
Squallsgurl- Thanks so much for the review. It seems I have a lot of people who don't generally like angst reading this. And about your name, do you mean Squall from Golden Sun? If so, you know who Alex, my muse, is.   
  
vendred13- well, the end will be happy and now I have a few more chapters planned out! YAY! So happy that my writer's block went away!  
  
Chibi-Kari- yeah, there's a fight this chapter, but over a certain puppy. I think we _all_ know who that is! Anyhow, thanks for all the reviews and for the summary. I fixed mine up a bit. It's better than what it was...  
  
Court12- thanks. The fight ain't that bad this time. Seto gets a little guilty though...  
  
Sakura - thanks. Another short chapter here. Grrr! Writer's block SUCKS!  
  
neoelite- I wish Clemson had a restaurant like that... man. Clemson is near where I live BTW.   
  
Subaru the Jaguar- you like coffee? I do. We should be friends or something. Here's my email:   
  
Tinyflyer02- I got so many things to read for people right now... I promise I'll get to it eventually!   
  
Black-Fire Eclipse- I found another way to say it... but I forgot it. I would cry, but gets rid of asterisks! Ghurghs! Anyhow, it's in the chapter!  
  
sailor-z-360- thanks so much! It's the least I could do in exchange for your beautiful reviews! I'm adicted to them, what can I say?  
  
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Dying Souls 8: Fighting for the Puppy  
  
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As Serenity fluttered her eyes open the next morning, she looked around to find herself in Seto's bed. As she remembered the previous night, the dinner, and how Seto had treated her, she sighed. She thought that maybe he had had a change of heart after all. She pondered on this thought for a moment before dismissing it. They had only been trying to get back together for a few weeks and while that might have been enough time for some, it would never have been enough time for Seto. All Serenity could do for now was to sit back and wait. She could only hope that they could learn to love each other again...  
  
As she got up, she looked around. It had been so long since she had been here. She hardly remembered how beautiful it was in here. As she looked up, she could see the painting of the Blue Eyes White Dragon that she had given him. A smile then touched her lips.   
  
Being that Seto was the richest man in Japan, he could afford a room like this. She had always been poor, the filth of the earth. She was grateful for Seto, for he had taken her out of that poor state and into this rich life. And time after time, she had been taught the horrors of this life. She supposed that there was no social class of society where one could be truly happy.   
  
She sighed and then walked out of her room, making her way down the hall. She was still in her nightgown. It was a thin piece of clothing and as she walked down the hallway, chills went up her spine. The air was cold. Seto had always liked the cold. Serenity supposed it had something to do with his nature. Seto was a cold person after all.   
  
As she came to her room, she thought of him, how their relationship was going. She sighed. She could only hope that Seto would admit his wrong doings. She wouldn't force him though. If he was going to let go of his pride and take her back, he would do it in time. If not... Serenity could only hope.   
  
As she finished dressing, the phone to her room began to ring. On the other line, was her beloved brother, Joey.   
  
Seto sighed as he worked away. Thoughts ran through his head about Serenity. He loved her, he couldn't deny that, but there seemed to be something troubling him about her. He had never really been into girls in his younger day. He had always been too busy with "studying" and being tortured among other things. That had been before he had thrown his stepfather out of a window and killed him. He was a criminal and he didn't deserve her.   
  
And now that he was in love, he knew that she was everything that he had been secretly asking for. She was a dream girl so to speak, and yet, something was holding him back. Perhaps it was that dimwit brother of hers. He had never liked Joey. He had always been so in his face, it was like the little prep wouldn't leave him alone and the way he always hung out with Yugi... Seto didn't want to go there. It would cost him too much pride, pride that he would not be able to afford to lose at this point. He had already lost enough though out this time of coming to love Serenity.   
  
All he could so for now was wait, and he had never been a patient type of person. He had always been rushed, hardly living his childhood and being pushed prematurely into his manhood. Perhaps it was time to slow down. He had never really taken the time to think about all the little things of this life. Now was the time to try...   
  
He thought about Serenity as he subsided from his work, staring out into the city beyond, outside his window.   
  
"""""""""""""""""""""""""'  
  
Serenity set to work in the kitchen around noon that day. She had decided that she wanted to do something special for Seto. This meant cooking. They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and judging by the way she had watched her brother eat, she'd say that it was true.   
  
As she found the recipe books, she looked for something about a Beef Filet. It was Seto's favorite. And then, deciding that a recipe like that would be too hard, she got out the dessert books to make a cheesecake.  
  
As she put together the ingredients, she thought of Seto. She also thought of how he would take the news that Joey would be visiting. The two had never liked each other. Now she only wondered if it had been a mistake to invite him over. She could only hope that another fight wouldn't break out... between anyone.  
  
Now as she put the cheesecake in the refrigerator to freeze for twelve hours, she made her way out of the kitchen and into Seto's office...  
  
"Yes?" asked Seto as he heard the knock on the door of his office and watched Serenity's small body creep within.   
  
"Umm... I need to tell you something." Said Serenity, trying to suppress any signs of weakness.   
  
"And that would be?" asked Seto yet again, annoyance showing on his face. Serenity could tell that he had been hard at work.  
  
"My brother is coming to visit tomorrow."   
  
Those were the words that allowed all hell to break loose.  
  
"Joey?" Seto hollered. "No, he won't come here."  
  
"But I've already invited him."  
  
"And what gives you the authority to do such a thing?" yelled Seto back at her.  
  
"He's my brother. I live here." Said serenity, trying to be calm on the surface as she crumbled within.   
  
"No." said Seto.  
  
"But why not?" asked Serenity.   
  
"Because I said so, Wheeler."   
  
"You can't just treat me, or my brother, like that, Seto. I thought you had changed!" yelped Serenity.   
  
"And what gave you _that_ impression, my dear?" said Seto calmly as he shot a glare at her.  
  
"Never mind." Said Serenity, breaking into tears. "I just don't know why it has to be this way. I want to love you, but... It's like you're not letting me."   
  
With that, she walked out of the room.   
  
Seto just stood there, looking out the empty doorway as if that would bring her back. He thought about her words, turned them over in his head and in the end he decided that _he_ was the one who was wrong. Serenity didn't need him, she could be happy with someone, anyone else.   
  
Now he only decided that he would try to make things right and would endure one night with that puppy which she called "brother".   
  
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Now you shall review! 


	9. Nostalgia's Desire

Reviewer Responses:

vendred13- Yep! Another fight. But without the fights, we wouldn't have a plot.

Tinyflyer02- I did start! I'll probably get to the other fic of yours soon.

AllanaStar- well, you're new. By now I have all my reviewers practically memorized! I'm flattered that my story is one of your favorites and I hope you review the remaining chapters!

kikoken- I did update. No. It will be a happy ending, I promise!

Sakura- Well, Kaiba will get over all the "I'm the only one that exists" faze by the end of the fic… hopefully.

Court12- Well, when he talks to her next chapter, there might even be a kiss. Hint hint. What do you think?

Chibi-Kari- thanks. Is it really that good?

Black-Fire Eclipse- yeah, this chapter was fun to write. Joey talks too weird for my COM though…

Subaru the Jaguar- well, Seto's going to show kindness next chapter. You'll see!

Squallsgurl- I like Picard and Felix for Golden Sun and I like Alex/Mia as a pairing. Most people don't but I guess that just sucks for them. No offense if you don't like that couple… or if you just plain don't care…

Now that that's taken care of, Alex, give the disclaimer!

Alex: Smurf Cat does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! She wishes she did, but she doesn't. If she did, Malik would be her personal manservant… that's gross.

Malik: Ewww! Not me!

BTW, the word "Nostalgia" means a great desire to have the past back. It's used a lot in the beginning of this chapter.

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Chapter 9: Nostalgia's Desire

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     As Serenity looked out over the balcony of her room, she pondered what Seto had said, what Seto had done to her. He had hurt her deeply by his words. Maybe he was right, she thought, to tell her that she was only a Wheeler and then call her by that name instead of her own. It was depressing at best to live with this rich man who had no feelings. Serenity remembered a thought that she had had not long ago, that Seto was only a human body and nothing more. He took up space, he was emotionless… only a void…

     Serenity knew the belief not to be true, but she knew that whatever was coming between them was beyond Seto. And furthermore, it was beyond the relationship. The clash of the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich could be compared to clashing religions. Neither party will ever give up. Serenity had been Poor all her life. She knew the ways of the poor, the attitude of the poor, and how to live poor, with little money to spare. Seto didn't have to spare money. He was rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams. And just as Serenity knew the ways of the poor, he knew the ways of the rich.

     '_This is hopeless,'_ she thought as a wind passed by her, blowing her soft, brown hair. '_and__ it might as well come to an end… though I _do_ dread that end_…'

     Now as she looked out at the colors of the sunset, she awaited tomorrow and what troubles it may bring. She could only stand there as the light began to fade. It was as though the light was calling her home, back to ancient memories best left forgotten. They were memories of a happier life with Seto… times when she wouldn't have to worry about his anger or about the angst of their life as it was now. It had been a time when nostalgia didn't exist to her, now it was all that existed to her…

     Nostalgia… the want of the past, the lust for the past. Yes, Serenity lusted for the past, wanted it so badly that it was driving her insane. Day in and day out she would secretly want it, carefully hiding the emotion from herself. Heavy nostalgia like this episode, which she was experiencing currently, came only rarely when she had some form of reality relating to the past. This reality was the sunset to her at that moment. It was all that existed. She remembered the sunsets like this that they had looked out into together, but even more, she remembered the age of those sunsets. They were engraved in her mind and would never leave her alone.

     She couldn't explain what she was feeling. She only wanted to hang on to it, now while she could pretend that she had only just met Seto. She now blocked out her memories of the past few weeks and focused on those from a year ago, two years ago…

     "I love you" she spoke into the fading light, savoring each moment as she pretended to talk with Seto, _her_ Seto. The one that lived years ago.

     And then the light of the sun left her…

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     Joey arrived the next evening. As Serenity came to the door, she greeted her brother with a warm hug.

     "I've missed you." She said, smiling up at him. He made her happy. The nostalgia of the previous night had passed on with the sunset and a long cry.

     "How ya' doing, Serenity?" he asked her in his old, funny accent. Serenity still didn't know how he had acquired it.

     "Fine." She said softly, barely audible.

     Joey's smile faded like it always did when he knew something was up, "Sis, is there somethin' wrong?" he lowered his voice, "how's the royal pain in the a- I mean butt treating you?"

     "Fine." Answered Serenity.

     Joey wasn't satisfied, but over the years he had learned when to shut up. He only looked her deeply in her eyes, the way a brother might do, and added, "I'm worried for you."

     "I know." said Serenity, signed and announced, "I made dinner."

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     Dinner would be hectic to say the very least. Serenity could already tell by the way that Seto glared daggers at Joey's head when he wasn't looking that the two wouldn't get along. It was like Seto was meeting Serenity's parents, but instead of parents, he got an over protective big brother with an ego too big for his own good. Seto's ego was big enough for the Kaiba Mansion; Serenity _really_ didn't want to deal with Joey's also.

     As she came out into the dining room, bringing with her, Seto's hired maids that were helping her to bring out the dinner that she had helped make, she could see the way Seto and Joey were staring each other down. They were silent, but Serenity could see it in their eyes that they were dying to fly insults at each other. She suspected that the reason they did not was because they had expected her to enter the room soon, which she did.

     Now as she came across the floor and to the table with soup in her hands, she glared at Seto. She could see the look of victory on Joey's face as she saw Seto scowl and subside. After this, she quickly made a harder and more deadly glare at her brother, after which, he promptly stopped and frowned. Seto smiled. Serenity sighed before glaring at the both of them.

     '_I swear_! You two are like children!' she thought aloud, glancing at the both of them.

     The table they were seated at was a long, dining table, not meant for parties of three. Seto rarely entertained guests and when he did, it would be a whole flock of business men, thus the table too long for any ordinary dinner. Seto saw no reason to buy a smaller one for the dining room. They had one in the kitchen, but it wasn't as nice as this one and Serenity had wanted to impress Joey.

     She set the soup down in the middle of the table. She had to glance at either side to see bother her brother and her lover. They were both seated at the ends, Seto at the head and Joey at the foot. Serenity sighed and ordered the maids to set all of the food near the middle.

     Next she called out to Seto and Joey without looking at either, "if you want food, you're going to have to come to the middle and eat _together_" she put as much emphasis on the last word as she could.

     "We'll eat at the head of the table, then." declared Seto.

     Serenity made a glace at him, but dare not argue.

     Joey scowled, "since when was _that_ side the head. I thought mine was." It was trying to be smart and apparently it wasn't working.

     "Do you see the metal moldings on your chair?" asked Seto.

     "Uh… yeah, what about 'em?" answered Joey back, still trying to be tough.

     "They're silver. Mine are gold."

     Then realizing his mistake he tried to cover it up, but to no avail. An argument broke out and Seto called Joey a puppy… again…

     At this point, serenity was ready to yell at them both and give a lecture on how each one was ruining her life. All she heard was the drone of the argument as she shut her eyes and put her hands to her temples as if she was fighting off a headache. And then she heard her named called, "Serenity!"

     "What is it, Joey?" she asked. She wasn't exactly in her happiest of moods.

     "Why do you like this guy?"

     "You know what?" she announced, "forget this dinner! You two are just too immature to let bye-gones be bye-gones! So what if Seto can beat you at Duel Monsters, Joey! So what if Joey is a little annoying sometimes, Seto! So what if I'm poor!" at this point she was breaking into tears, "just get over it, will you! …I'm sick of this…"

     And with that, she made her way up to her room, running and crying the whole way.

     Seto turned to face Joey, "I think you should leave."

     "I'm not leaving 'til I find out what's wrong here!" yelled Joey.

     "Do you want me to call the police, Wheeler?"

     Joey cringed, "you wouldn't."

     "I would. Not get out before I have to put your leash on and lead you outside, puppy."

     "No." yelled Joey, "and I'm not a puppy!"

     Seto rolled his eyes. "I really don't have time for this petite nonsense. I have to go help… Serenity." It had taken everything that Seto had to admit that to Joey. He didn't really know _why_ he had said it to him…

     And then, seeing Seto's intentions, Joey backed off. He did it grudgingly and reluctantly, but he did it. "Fine, but I'll be waiting right here for you when you get back! I'm her brother. I want to talk to her too."

     "Have it your way, Wheeler." Was all Seto said before bounding up the stairs to Serenity. For some reason he didn't care whether or not Joey waiting in the dining room to talk to her as well. He only wanted to talk to Serenity and to make things better.

     No, he _would_ make things better.


	10. Is it Okay to Say, I'm Sorry?

Malik: Reviewer Responses… we got a lot this time. 16…

Alex: that's good, you idiot!

**Sakura-** I will definitely use your idea. Don't worry, I'll give you credit if I get around to writing it out. How's this chapter?

**vendred13-** Well, get ready. He's about to swallow a lot more!

**Black-Fire Eclipse-** sorry for the wait! School starts soon (see the note at the bottom). He'll cheer her up, trust me!

**Chibi-Kari-** thanks for all the compliments. You really think I'm that good? I don't think it's weird at all for you to think of Seto when you listen to that Trapt song. Have you ever heard "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit? It REALLY reminds me of Seto.

**kikoken-** What do you mean, "those two"? Thanks for the review!

**neoelite –** I completely agree. It be very funny!

**Nick** – Hello, Brother.

**Court12-** Seto take a BIG gulp this chapter. Any more and he would be humble!

**Squallsgurl-** err. I'm not fast. Faster than some, but not fast. Thanks for the review!

**Subaru the Jaguar-** oh yeah! Big change of heart. You'll see…

**Forgotten Souls-** YAY! 9 reviews! I love reviews. You're a good reviewer…

**Tinyflyer02-** I'm working on the beta. It'll be done soon, I hope…

**Setine-** the ending will too be happy! Thanks for the review.

**IceTheStars**- I know you don't like Yu-Gi-Oh! and you'll never see this, but thanks…

**Jia**- Thanks for the review. Did you read all this in one sitting?

**Devinitas**- you need to catch up…

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**Has anyone seen the new NAF feature of ? How it works, is you check the "Highly Recommend this story to Other readers" box and it'll show up in a special section of Details are in your login sections. Please recommend me of you think I'm good enough!**

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Chapter 10: Is it Okay to Say, "I'm Sorry"?

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Seto looked wonderingly at Serenity as he entered her room, almost as if he didn't know what she would do to him if she were to realize his presence. He stood there silent as he came behind her. He was still; almost calm as he looked down upon her small form, as he set his eyes upon her sorrows and his ears upon her muffles cries. He wondered why she had to create these situations so. Hadn't she learned his temper better than _that_ over the years?

Now he only gazed at her and in his gazing, not knowing what he was doing, he spoke, "I'm sorry." In truth he was. He had never felt more remorse for his wrongdoings than he had now.

Then Serenity noticed him and spun around, "what are _you _doing here?"

Seto could see the tears falling down her face, falling to the floor, staining her face on the way down. "I just wanted you to know that I care." He spoke softly to her, as though she was a child needing counseling.

She sighed, almost as though she wanted to make the relationship work after all, as if she would give up her being so childish. In truth she had done all this before, but through Seto's eyes, this was something new. He had always known her as the quiet girl who would always care and love, no matter what her circumstances. The woman that he knew now was opposite, but slowly regaining her former self.

Seto sighed as well, decided that now was a good a time as any to tell her. He took a deep breath before stating, "I love you." The words came so smoothly off his tongue, almost as if they belonged there, as though they had been the words that he had needed to release all along. Surely this deadly epidemic, characterized by doubt and fear, named depression would all end soon. It had to hadn't it?

He was not prepared for her next words. He hadn't expected them; "I love you, too." They came softly and almost silently from her beautiful lips. He watched her as she looked up to him, up into his icy eyes. And then… he felt the ice of his eyes melt as she met them, almost as if she was a fire burning beneath his heart, fighting to thaw it free from its icy prison. She had succeeded, unknowingly.

He looked down into her soft brown eyes. Stepping closer, he whispered again, "I'm sorry for all I've done. I was…" he paused and looking deeper into her peering eyes, knowing that she was curious to hear the last of his sentence, he continued. In truth, he was curious to hear the end of it himself. He had never admitted such a thing to anyone before; "…I was wrong."

Serenity looked almost happy at the words, as if she had been waiting for them. Seto didn't take it as being cocky however; he only bent his head down to look at the floor.

"As was I," he heard her speak, "It was I who was always escalating the fights and starting a few myself."

Seto looked up at her; "none of this is your fault. If I wasn't so stuck up all the time…" he looked away, know that finishing that sentence would completely humble him. He had to hold on to _some_ pride. He was Seto Kaiba after all.

"It's ok," stated Serenity.

Seto moved closer to her, looking deeply into her eyes. There was no more need for words. Their emotions shown through their eyes, piercing the darkness, shattering the final barriers of their depression. Serenity's eyes told Seto_, 'I am yours. Take me.' _And so Seto did as her eyes commanded. He leaned forward and before he knew what was happening, kissed her. He could feel her soft lips upon his as she kissed back and her small arms wrap themselves around his neck. He pulled her closer, taking in the moment and savoring it with all of his soul.

And just like that, the moment ended. The embrace was finished. Seto leaned back out of it, "I only hope we can find a way to heal."

"Yes" said Serenity, and then as she spoke, she seemed to realize something that she had forgotten, "where's Joey?"

Seto grunted, "Downstairs."

"Let's have dinner… all of us."

Seto rolled his eyes, but in the end subdued and walked down the stairs with Serenity on his arm, awaiting the confrontation with Joey at the bottom.

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I'm SO sorry that it's so short. School starts in one week and I have a 380-pg. book and a report due before then. I will try my best to update this fic weekly from here on out. I also need you to tell me how much longer I should drag this out. Should it be a quick ending after this or should I take it out a few more chapters? Should there be a whole new part of the fic about the conflicts between Joey and Seto? You decide, because quite frankly, I don't really know how the fic is gonna end yet. It'll be happy, I know that much…

Malik: REVIEW!


	11. Out of the Darkness and Into the Light

Reviewer responses:

Crystal-shards213- Thanks for the review. I don't think I'll write about Kaiba and Joey either.

Nick- Stop saying the same thing and catch up!

Jv- thanks. Yep, Seto is setoish alright!

sailor-z-360- thanks for reviewing. Tell me what you like about the chapters and what looks wrong with them. Yes, I like Zelda.

Subaru the Jaguar- lucky senior! Man, I'm a freshman. People say that I don't act like it, but… yeah. I have drama too. Some senior bumped me from creative writing. Sucks that they can do that… grrr!

Court12- y'know, they might just get married. I hadn't really thought about that…

Tinyflyer02- I'll get to the beta as soon as I can. I'm working on it. School zaps all my time now…

Sakura- I'll try to update soon. I might just use your idea.

Setine- o…k.… evil monkeys? Ahhhhhhhh!

Forgotten Souls- This chapter is Seto's POV all the way.

kikoken- thanks. Yeah, Joey and Seto fight a lot…

Black-Fire Eclipse- thanks. Do you think people will read a sequel?

Chibi-Kari- hey, do you have the music on your computer? I could send you some if you can send me some!

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Chapter 11: Out of the Darkness and Into the Light

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As Seto led Serenity down the long staircase that led into the dining hall, he looked around the huge room. First he looked at the ceilings, stretching many tens of feet into the air, and then at the carpets adorning the floors and looking upon them, saw the chairs, all with gold and silver moldings in the arm rests and backs. He looked upon to the table to see the meal, so exact in its setting. With this he sighed, as though never realizing that he was this rich before.

In truth, he had taken everything he had for granted. He never stopped to think of those who were starving when the excess food of his table went to waste. He never pondered the homeless when he came home to a huge mansion filled with valuables and bedrooms with all the furnishings you would ever want. Most of all, he never thought of the poor, those who could not afford the pleasures of life, when he so wastefully spent his now easily earned money on things such as dining sets, and paintings, and Duel Monsters cards. True it had been hard at first to earn the money, but now that it flowed into him as a river to the ocean, he became blinded by it. Money was pride, pride let to shame, shame led to disappointment, and finally, disappointment led to blame.

He sighed as he realized who that blame had been centered on all these years. He looked down at the small girl on his arm and cast his eyes down to her brother below, who was watching them both with wary eyes, not the eyes that Joey would normally use. He was watching Seto, waiting for him to slip up, so that his pride could boil down to blame before his very eyes. Seto would not allow that. The only one he would swallow his pride for was Serenity. Beyond her there was no one, not even Mokuba, his own brother, who could turn him in his ways.

Seto supposed that he was weak, letting a woman rule his life. The part of his mind that lies beneath consciousness had a different opinion. Unknowingly and yet knowing so well, Seto enjoyed having her there to help carry the burdens of his life, to help set them in the fire and cast them out into anywhere that would take them and then to either burn or rot away. Slowly, his life would come back to normal again. He would be a _real_ person with real emotions, not just some CEO of an expensive corporation. He would learn to love her again, learn to become human. It was something that he had never had time for in his boyhood, and now that he was a man, why wasn't he doing anything about it?

He sighed once again as he came to the bottom of the staircase, Serenity on his arm, tightly holding him as if for comfort. Joey spoke up to them, but not in his normal tone, it was somewhat sympathetic, and yet almost as if he wanted to help the two, "is… something wrong? I'm her older brother. I need to know about it…"

Serenity looked at him with sad eyes. Seto could see them, and as he looked upon her, he saw that she was ready to speak. He silenced her, "no…" his voice lingered, almost as if he was contemplating to tell Joey of all the fights and of long bouts of depression. He could see Serenity look away. She was silent; it hurt Seto's heart to see her do so.

Joey looked away, almost with a look of defeat, but then turned back to Seto and attempted an apology, "We've both been real jerks, huh?" he said it loudly with his Bronx accent, then seeing as how Seto was not amused, continued, "we need to stop this rivalry… I'm willing to stop if you are. It's hurting Serenity more than anyone," he turned to face his younger sister, "I can see it in your eyes, Seren. You don't wanna admit it, but I see it. I'm you older brother, I know these things."

He was silenced as he looked up at Seto and into his ice blue eyes. Then Seto spoke, "Nonsense, Wheeler." Serenity almost jumped back. Seto could see it in the way she flinched. He continued, "There's no need to end a rivalry over this. You're just weak …puppy!"

Joey jumped at this, "What did you just call me?!" he yelled at the top of his voice. Serenity bowed her head.

"I called you a puppy. It's like a dog, but smaller." At this point, Seto could see that Joey was fuming with anger. He smirked, a job well done.

Serenity made a muffled sort of scream. Then, her voice rose with anger and she shouted, "can't you two get over this?! You so immature!"

Seto glanced at her, "so be it."

Serenity looked taken-aback at this remark, "we're you just telling me how sorry you were?"

"You know as well as I do that I never back down. Serenity I…" Seto stopped in mid sentence, glanced at Joey, who looked as though he was readily awaiting the end of the statement, swallowed and continued, "I love you and… I don't care what anyone thinks or about anything that gets in our way! So what if me and your brother have a rivalry going?!"

Serenity looked down, looking almost as if she would cry. She looked back up again, however, "fine… I can learn to live with that."

"What?" asked Joey.

"Joey," she began, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave…"

"What?" Joey repeated.

"Seto and I have been through some hard times. We're only just coming out of them… we'll have you back here after things are cleared up. You have to understand, I'm not a little girl anymore and I don't need you to protect me. Seto does it just fine!" Seto tried to hide his true emotion as she spoke the words. His insides turned, almost as if he was guilty and his crime was being found out.

Joey only looked at Serenity with disbelief, "Seren, you could have told me."

"I didn't feel like I could," answered Serenity with her soft voice. Seto watched the two of them, discussing a matter that he would rather leave undiscovered. He was powerless to do anything about it.

"Of course you could have," Answered Joey, "I wouldn't have made you move out or anything. What exactly happened? Tell me."

"No," came Serenity's voice, strong and steady. Seto could visibly see her stiffen. "What happened here is between me and Seto. I won't share it with you."

"But Seren-"

"No, Joey… just leave…"

"Fine, but if you ever need me," began Joey, and was cut off by Serenity.

"Yes, I know. We can talk."

Joey nodded before walking out the door. Serenity watched him as he left through the entrance of the dining hall. Seto immediately turned to her once he heard the click of the door, "what just happened."

"I don't know," said Serenity, and then after a pause, "do you really love me?"

"Yes"

Serenity sighed. "I love you too."

As Seto looked at her now, he realized that their future may brighten…

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Malik: REVIEW!


	12. Fallen Snow upon My Frozen Heart

Reviewer Responses:

chinxy- Don't worry! Everything will work out for those two.

Subaru the Jaguar- pisses me off sometimes…yeah; it's good to follow Malik's advice.

Forgotten Souls- YAY! I love thou reviews! I have updates on Kyle too! I got two kisses on the cheek from him and I kissed him on the cheek! YAYAYAYAYAY!

Black-Fire Eclipse- I'm not going to write a sequel, but if an idea hits me after this is finished, I'll write another SetoxSerenity.

Setine- Don't we all!

kikoken- Thanks. I really like getting reviews, especially when they say good things.

Meluvyugi- I love Yugi too. Thanks!

norestar-angel- I don't think Joey will even be in the rest of the story… well, maybe at the end. There'll only be a few more chapters, epsecialy now that things are looking up.

RiterAnonymous- thank you SOOOOOOO much for all those reviews! I LOVE them! Anout what you said about Joey being a dog and me not liking him, I think that well make him an honorary Brooke. lol

anya06- WOW! The last 5 hours? You're a fast reader, faster than me. Do you really think that some of my scenes come to life and you can feel them?

Sakura- I hope you like this chapter too. I do. I enjoyed writing it. Thanks!

thefutureMrs.Kaiba- Thanks so much!

Tinyflyer02- sorry the update took so long. Thanks.

Squallsgurl- If you thought that was good, you should see this! Not to brag or anything. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I want to get into an art school and work on my writing. I hope I can…

Chibi-Kari- YEAH! What other music can you send me? I can send you some stuff! YAY!

**Thank you so much for all my reviews! I erally do appreciate them. The reason why I didn't update sooner was because of 's updates and such. **

**On a side note, my birthday was August 19th! YAY!******

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Fallen Snow upon My Frozen Heart

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It was a week after the night that Joey had come over that Serenity sat at her bed. She was alone in the house today. Seto had gone out to lunch with one of Japan's more important business men. As she sat there, she thought, of nothing in particular, but generally about her recent events. She thought of Seto and how he openly told her that he loved her. He had swallowed his pride, all except his last store, stashed away for when he would need it. Serenity pondered on that pride, she wondered why he had always been so headstrong about it. In the end, she gave up her thinking, and retreated to her beloved woodland behind the mansion.

As she came to the first edge of the dark, dreary wood, she stopped abruptly. She looked around, making sure that no one was there, as she had sense a presence, and proceeded to go to her clearing far off yonder. She was conscience that she had hardly ever done this before. The first time she had retreated to the woods was after her first major fight with Seto. She had been bawling the whole time, not taking any notice of where she had been going, and at last finding this very edge of the wood. As she looked upon it and entered, she thought of tat first fight, of its brutality, and of Seto's hateful words and her vulnerability to them.

She sighed as she thought of the past. It was over, meaningless, and yet, it still hurt. It had become a scar across her life, an eternal nightmare that haunted her day in and day out. _Life is a nightmare_, she had often thought to herself. It seemed to her now that the waking world was still so very far away, as if this universe that she resided in now, the mansion that she lived within alongside Seto, was all a dream. She had heard it said more than once, "life is but a dream". She now wondered if it was true.

She sighed as she began her walk into the woods, pushing aside such thoughts from her head. As she let the thoughts go, she became relaxed. This was not a sort of emotion that came to her often anymore. While Seto had made up with her, while the long, agonizing bouts of depression had for the most part passed on, she continued to be unsettled. She had once admitted to herself that she had dwelt in that depression, but it never dawned on her until now that she had been correct in admitting that. She had trained herself to live within that kind of environment, and now that she was out of it she had no idea what to do.

Now she only walked though the woods. She pondered her life, and as she did, was strangely peaceful. What now? She rolled the thought over and over in her head, each time elaborating it, making plans for what could be done. In the end she gave up and continued on with her walk. She looked around, seeing the misty forest floor, noting its beauty. It was late November now and the days were becoming cold with the onset of winter. Serenity had yet to see snow. She had always loved snow, despite its coldness.

As she continued on, she looked up at the lofty branches of the trees and at the last leaves, holding on for dear life, and watched as they were continually losing that battle, falling to the earth, crumbling and decomposing into its surface. Serenity watched them blackly, not thinking of them, only acknowledging their existence. She watched the dark browns of the leaves, the yellows of those not quite dead, and the deep reds of those who just refused to die. Every once in a while, she would pass an ever green, thick and ready for winter's cold nights. She breathed the crisp air and huddled her jacket around her. This was what she loved about the woods, it was peaceful. You could forget things here and travel to another world, when in reality you would be only a few miles from an industrial city.

As she breathed that air, cold and moist with the falling mist, she looked up at the sky. It was bleak and white. There was no color to it. It was only a continuing whiteness, stretching out and reaching. She pulled her jacket tighter as she realized just how cold it was. And then, as she was looking up, she wished for snow. The sky was white, the air was cold, the trees seemed ready, the mist fell, but where was the snow? And then, as though Heaven was granting a wish to her, it fell. As she looked around, she could only see a few flakes falling to the warm ground and disappearing as the melted into the earth. She held out hope, however. Perhaps the snow would stick.

With snow, came an irresistible feeling. She could not ignore it; it came upon her so quickly and suddenly. She had no time to think of it, no time to shun it away from her. She giggled now, laughing as if she was a child. She wanted to escape, to go somewhere far off in her own land far away from existence. She followed that desire and bounded down the beaten path in the woods that led to her clearing. She thought of herself at first as a princess, run away from home, and then as a lady of the woodland. Her adult self told her that this was stupid. She stopped running and looked around her. There was no one to tell her "no". For now, she could be whomever she wished. She followed that dream.

As she came to the clearing, she began to think of herself as a queen of snow. Fantasy had always interested her. It was as though she was living it now. She could forget her troubles, forget the Kaiba Mansion, and most of all forget Seto. It wasn't that she wanted to forget him deliberately; it was that she wanted to be free. Freedom was what she had here and now. It was a feeling that could not be explained with human description.

She frolicked along the edges of her clearing, picking from the ground as she went the wild flowers that had survived this first cold wave. She thought of them as something beside flowers that not even she could explain. She was lost in her fantasy now, playing as if she was a little girl in a wonderland. She was alone, without any direction or anyone to tell her that she couldn't. She loved it.

As she looked around, she saw that the snow was beginning to stick. The plants were becoming frosted with small crystals of ice as the clearing was turned into her own type of magical wonderland. She stayed for only a short time before her conscience got the better of her. It told her that Seto would be waiting, that he would be mad, but still there was hope. Perhaps he could be persuaded to come back with her.

Now as she ran through the woods, running literally, she took in the essence of having the wind in your face. She was cold, her hands nearly freezing. She stuffed them into her pockets as she ran. Her face was cold now. She was aware that her nose was runny and that it was probably blotchy with red. That was the consequence for staying out too long in this weather.

As she exited the woods, she hesitated. "I will come back…" she whispered to herself, and yet also to her precious wood. As she ran up though the lawns back to the mansion, she ran up the steps to find Seto there. She stopped and smiled at him.

He smiled back at her, "Where have you been?"

"In the woods," she replied, "I have to show them to you."

"I've been once or twice," he stated casually, and then looking down at her he seemed to notice her appearance, "You look cold."

"Yes," answered Serenity. "It's snowing."

"I see that." Said Seto, "come inside."

Serenity immediately followed him into the warm back rooms of the mansion. Her face flushed with color, she began to unbutton her coat, beating the snow out of it as she went. She could see Seto leave the room silently as she finished with her task. Following him, she came to the library. She could see him walk over to the fire place as she immediately followed suit.

"What are you doing?" she asked, wondering about his day and why he was not working away as a slave of darkness for his company.

"I'm taking a day off," he answered.

At this Serenity could almost feel herself jump. It was extremely unlike for Seto to stop any sort of work, let alone take time out of his own job, "any reason?"

"It's snowing," was his answer, "that and I wanted to spend time with you."

Serenity thought of he beloved woods and of the snow. She wanted Seto to be able to enjoy it in the same way she did. In the end, she gave up, decided that it was too cold to go out into the snow now. Instead, she just collapsed against Seto.

She could feel his arm wrap around her, then a kiss on the top of her head. She wrapped her small arms about him and squeezed him. She could feel his warmth against her, feel his passion. It wasn't long before they were locked into an embrace that they could not back out of…

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Well, I guess you could call that last paragraph a lime. The rating's not high enough to do anything else with 'em. Meh… Next chapter, they go out into the snow at night! Yippie!

Malik: REVIEW!


	13. Perhaps Things Will Not Be So Bad

I've decided against a reviewer response section this time. It's my last chapter, so enjoy!

Sorry about the delay. I felt that I REALLY needed to add a few more paragraphs. The Epilogue will be out within the next week or so for anyone who's interested.

Alex: you darn well better enjoy!

Be nice...

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Dying Souls Final Chapter, Chapter 13: Perhaps Things Will Not Be So Bad

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Serenity smiled as she took Seto's hand. They were both completely bundled up with only their faces showing. This made Serenity smile. Seto looked so _different_ in this new attire as compared to his business suits. She had to resist the urge to giggle whenever she set eyes upon him. His brown hair was covered with a fuzzy type of hat and his hands with gloves. _It's too bad those gloves aren't fuzzy too._ Thought Serenity. She laughed inwardly. Seto sneered.

"Lighten up," ordered Serenity.

Seto smiled at her, "Let's just go."

As they walked outside into the fading sunlight, they looked toward it. The sunset lay in such an array of colors that it seemed to lure their eyes to it. They were almost incapable _not_ to look at its beauty and majesty. The snow had stopped falling now. The clouds had cleared and the sun had been able to shine through. The sun, however, was not able to melt the frozen snow. Seto could have told Serenity all of the scientific reasons for this, but she hardly cared. Neither thought about it anyway. It was behind their minds. They were only focused on one thing now; each other.

As they crossed the frozen lawn to the woods, Seto paused. Serenity looked over at him, "Why did you stop?"

"It's been so long," Seto said with what seemed to be anguish.

"What's been so long? So long since what?" Serenity asked, baffled and confused.

"It's been a long time since I've realized that these woods are here, that they even exist..." he said it wistfully in a way. Serenity wondered why.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked him.

Seto sighed, deciding he should tell her, "When I was young, very young, I used to love the woods."

Serenity looked at him blankly, as if asking him to go on.

He did, "I never went back to any sort of woods until... until you ran away a few months ago. Before that, I hadn't been to them since my parents died. I guess I... just lost interest with my loss. I wanted power, not peace."

Serenity continued to look at him, wondering and waiting. He did not speak again and Serenity felt that it was up to her to fill the silence, "what are you saying, Seto?"

"I'm saying that it was my thirst for power that led to what happened between us. I cast you aside just as I did my own life. All in exchange for power..."

"Don't say that." Protested Serenity.

"Why not?" said Seto blankly. "This is my mansion, these are my woods. _I_ allow _you_ here-"he stopped, realizing what he was saying.

Serenity bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, came Seto voice. It was soft.

"It's ok," answered Serenity in an equally low voice. "I still love you. I'll always love you..."

Seto looked down upon her; "I love you too."

As they walked forward into the woods, Serenity looked back on all her memories with Seto; the good and the bad. She felt sorrowful as she thought of their angst, How he had chased away her sanity and yet brought it back to life again... she loved him, it was true. She always would.

As they walked though the fading sunlight of the woods, she looked up at him, her emotions running so deep. They both kept silent, as though they were both trapped in this moment. This time, it was a prison that they were glad to be in. Blissfulness. Love.

As they walked further and the moon rose, it gleamed upon all of the white snow about them. The forest seemed to light up with the moonlit snow. As Serenity looked around, she noted how beautiful everything was. As she looked up at Seto, she could see his face. It lay in shadows, black and white, aligning with the moon. He was beautiful even here. She looked down at her feet, and back behind her at the footprints trailing off into the distance, far off yonder. The mansion was hardly visible under the cover of the evergreens of the wood.

And then as she looked back up again, she could feel Seto wrap and arm about her waist and holding her to him as he walked, began to speak to her, "you're cold."

"I know," answered Serenity, "but it doesn't matter,"

Seto sighed.

Serenity snuggled close to him, pressing her cold and blotchy face up against his cold, rough coat in an attempt to warm herself. The fabric felt hard and stiff beneath her skin. It only made her more uncomfortable.

Serenity paused as they came to the clearing in the woods. As she looked at the soft moonlight upon it, she sighed with its beauty. The moon lay in all its fullness and glory above them as stars worked their courses above. Serenity halted as they came to the center of the clearing. Her face was still red and blotchy. Seto didn't care if she didn't look her very best right now, so why should she? She lived only to please him with her love. She hoped it would stay that way.

Now as they stood there, frozen in a moment, Seto turned and looked down upon her face. "I love you," he said, and then slowly mustered the words, "I'm sorry... I've been... _wrong_ all these years to you."

"It's ok," answered Serenity. "It's ok..."

Moments of silence passed as years upon the two. They looked only at the other and at the snow upon their feet and laying all about them. And then Seto reached out his arms and took Serenity into them, embracing her in a tight hug. She hugged him back. The hug was followed by a kiss, so gentle and loving.

Serenity could nearly feel tears welling up at this. They had come out of darkness. They were _happy_ now... where they ought to be. Seto was hers forever. She was his. He was her _immortal_. Immortal would be her love. She thought of the past. She decided in the end to do away with it. What good did it do her anyway?

She thought instead toward the future. Perhaps from now on, things would not be so bad.

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Well, that's it! Dying Souls is done (hate to say it! I was getting GOOD reviews!). I need to know if anyone wants a prequel or an epilogue. Thank you all SO much for all your reviews and support! Until next fic...

To think, this whole fic started when I wrote a songfic to _My Immoral_ by Evenesece and took out the lyrics...

Malik: YAY! Review... heh heh! That's the last time I have to say it too! YIPPIE!


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